Escalators and moving walkways of the aforesaid kind comprise a support structure, for example a framework, at and in which the stationary components such as guide rails, bearing blocks and the balustrades, as well as the moved components such as the step belt or plate belt, the deflecting axle and parts of the drive, are arranged.
In, for example, EP 2 050 708 A2 there is disclosed a moving walkway having a support structure which includes two longitudinal profile members extending in the longitudinal direction of the moving walkway. The longitudinal profile members are connected together by means of transverse struts and form a self-supporting stable frame. Guide tracks for guidance of the step belt are formed in the longitudinal profile members. In addition, fastening regions for feet and for balustrade supports are provided at the longitudinal profile members. This frame can also be divided into several sections or frame modules which can be joined together at the ends.
The construction disclosed in EP 2 050 708 A2 has the disadvantage that these longitudinal profile members have to be constructed to be very stiff in bending and torsion, since transverse forces acting on the balustrade and oriented orthogonally to the direction of running of the moving walkway have to be supported by the vertical sections of the cross-section of the longitudinal profile member. Such transverse forces are caused by, for example, users who are leaning on the balustrade, by impacts on the balustrade and the like and, due to the usual constructional height of the balustrade, act as high bending moments or bending forces on the longitudinal profile members. The necessary stiffness in bending and torsion has the consequence that these longitudinal profile members have a high weight per running meter due to a large cross-section and a large wall thickness of the profile member and handling is thus made very difficult. In addition, such profile members are very costly in production and processing and require costly production means such as press tools, press dies, bending tools, assembly templates and clamping tools.
A moving walkway is disclosed in WO 2014 048 809 A1, the balustrades of which are supported on a load-bearing structure by means of supports and the guide rails of which are fastened to these supports. These supports, which are made from angle profile members, are sufficiently stiff for moving walkways of flat construction, which are exposed to low levels of load such as arise in use in, for example, smaller department stores. Supports for moving walkways in public facilities such as, for example, airports have to have a high level of stiffness in bending and buckling so that the supports are not deformed when the plate belt has dense occupancy. The same also applies to the escalators disclosed in WO 2014 048 809 A1, since the supports, due to the inclined setting thereof, are also loaded in bending by the mass of the guide rails to be supported and in a given case the mass of the balustrades. In order to achieve the necessary stiffness with respect to buckling the supports illustrated in WO 2014 048 809 A1 and consisting of angle profile members therefore have to have very substantial wall thicknesses for this field of use, which, however, would mean a huge increase in weight.